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“We should finish breakfast.” I tried to smile, but it came out watery.
Simon pulled my plate in front of him, next to his plate, and handed me my fork. It looked like he was keeping me in his lap to finish eating, too. I gave him a grateful smile and started in on my pancakes again. They were so fluffy and rich with butter.
I didn’t notice the others not eating until I was almost done. I looked at them. “You’re making me feel self-conscious if I’m the only one eating.”
That got a laugh out of them, and they moved to finish their own plates. We ate quietly. The only sounds were the clink of forks on the plates.
“Man, I’m stuffed.” Julian stretched his arms over his head. “That was great, Simon. Thank you.”
Simon nodded. “Always, mate.”
I grinned. “English people really say mate?”
Simon looked at me and laughed. “This one does.”
“Now, why don’t we get going?” Xavier stood moving to stand in front of me. “Mary put the wheelchair in the limo’s trunk, so we can head straight out.” He held out his arms to me with a questioning look.
I didn’t hesitate this time. I held out my own arms to him and he looked relieved as he picked me up from Simon’s lap. His lips pressed against my forehead. “Where are we going shopping?”
“The mall.” Xavier, the man of many words.
I giggled at my thought and I just shook my head when the others looked at me quizzically.
“It shouldn’t be very busy at this time of day.” Julian walked next to Xavier. “That way you’re not so overwhelmed when we go shopping in multiple stores.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
Elias snorted. “It is, but when Simon and Julian go shopping, they really go shopping.”
As we moved from the kitchen to the front of the house, I saw Mary sweeping a hallway. She looked up with a smile and her eyes met mine.
“Oh! Thank you, Mary!” I didn’t get to say anything more before we were walking through the door. Simon said goodbye to her.
Charles was there standing at the door. He looked straight ahead as he opened the back for us to climb into the car. Elias took me from Xavier as he settled. I squirmed until I was off his lap and sitting next to him. I could sit on my own, giving them a little scoff when they raised their brows at me.
“I’ve never been to a mall before, is it indoors?” I fidgeted with my hands.
“It’s inside. It’s huge.” Julian leaned forward from around Xavier to look at me. “We’ll eat in the food court, too when we’re done.”
That sounded like a lot of fun to me. “Chinese?”
They all smiled. Julian laughed.
“Chinese it is!”
Julian wasn’t kidding when he’d said it was huge. I watched in awe as we pulled into one of the many parking lots. Charles parked us at the third entrance into the mall instead of one of the many large department stores.
Simon hopped out of the limo quickly, grabbing the wheelchair out of the trunk and had it ready by the time the rest of us got out of the car. Julian helped me into the chair, making sure I was comfortable before Elias started pushing it. There were a lot of people coming out of the entrance as we walked inside.
I raised an eyebrow at Julian, and he shrugged. So much for not being busy, but I didn’t mind. There was so much to see and do here. The chill in the air from the air conditioning made goosebumps erupt over my skin.
I didn’t know where we were going, but the guys were confident as they strode along. I could tell they were used to the attention that they brought themselves by just being in a group. Women, and even some men, watched them walk by with heated gazes.
We stopped in front of a store that catered to larger women and I was thankful that they’d not gone into a regular store, since some stores didn’t even carry plus sized clothing.
“Welcome! Is there anything we can help you with today?” The employee that came forward gave us each a welcoming smile before focusing on me.
“We need a whole new wardrobe.” Simon stepped forward and handed her a credit card.
